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Online gaming is considered as one of the most popular activities in the entertainment scene. Due to the vast reach of the internet as well as the continuously improving, gambling sites are becoming more accessible for all people.

iGaming is the general term referring to all interactive and internet gaming. It typically refers to websites where in player can wager money on games on skills and chance. Such examples are Texas Holdem Poker, Bingo, Blackjack and physical and fantasy games.

Evolution of iGaming

The beginning of iGaming and online gambling can be traced back to the year 1994. During the time, the Free Trade and Processing Act of Antigue and Barbuda were legalized. This gave the Carribean nation the right to grant online gambling licenses. Eventually it opened new opportunities for all casino operators around the world.

The gaming software company Microgaming was able to obtain license in the Isle of Man and began one of the first online casino games in the world. In 1996, the company Cryptologic was formed and they developed encrypted communication protocols. These help secure financial transactions for players, allowing online game to be safe and evolve further.

Eventually, the iGaming industry began expanding. Kahnawake Gaming Commission was established in Canada in 1996 and issued gaming licenses. The company InterCasino offered 18 casino games as well as wagering access to the National Indian Lottery. Soon, online casinos continued to pop up all over the places, offering a variety of different games to a vast range of target markets.

Cash Splash, a game still hosted on many online casinos and played around the world today, was the first ever online slot game to incorporate a networked progressive jackpot.

Such progressive games allowed online casinos to collectively raise the sum of the prize, offering players more incentive to play for it and win. Since this time, many new progressive jackpot slots have been developed, and have become some of the more popular games played online today.

After 1994 online casinos, poker and betting companies developed and bloomed, creating a very developed market, and now Malta, UK, Gibraltar, Canada and the Isle of Man also offer online gambling licensing services.